A Geek Girl's Guide to Electronics and the Internet of Things

Audrey O'Shea

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN:
  9781119683681
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781119683698
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Computer Engineering
• Index: Technology & Engineering

A straightforward demystification of electronics and the Internet of Things

A Geek Girl's Guide to Electronics and the Internet of Things breaks down and simplifies electronics and the Internet of Things for the layperson. Written by a leading technical school instructor with a talent for bringing complex topics to everyday people, this book provides concrete examples and practical advice for anyone interested in building, repairing, or studying electronics and functional Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

A Geek Girl's Guide to Electronics and the Internet of Things explores a wide range of topics including, among others:

• Ohm's and Watt's Law
• Series and Parallel Circuits
• Diodes, transistors, capacitors and relays
• Motors and Pulse with Modulation
• Using light to control electricity
• Photovoltaic Cells and Transducers
• Enhancing circuits with Arduino
• Connecting circuits to networks

The distinguished author's website includes videos to help you build and enhance projects, along with deeper information to enrich your learning. Additionally, the book goes beyond theory and teaches readers how circuit components become IoT devices and provide the data that drive our modern world. The combination of hands-on activities and solid pedagogy ensures long-lasting retention of the material for everyone.

Part I
IoT and Electricity Basics

In This Part

• Chapter 1: IoT and Electronics
• Chapter 2: Electricity: Its Good and Bad Behavior
• Chapter 3: Symbols and Diagrams
• Chapter 4: Introduction to the Arduino Uno
• Chapter 5: Dim the Lights
• Chapter 6: Feel the Power
• Chapter 7: Series and Parallel Circuits

CHAPTER 1
IoT and Electronics

“Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore.”

—Dorothy, The Wizard of Oz

Sci-fi movies and shows have always been my obsession. As a child, I would watch in awe when reruns of The Jetsons showed people talking on video phones, the almost-human robot maid, and sidewalks that moved. Then there were the Star Trek reruns where characters walked around with communicators that allowed them to talk to anyone just by tapping them. Later, Star Wars had language translators that would automatically translate into any other language … rather like what Google Translator does now.

Forty or fifty years ago, many devices and capabilities that are commonplace now were considered ridiculous, impossible, or mere fantasy. Were these movies and TV shows predictions of the future, or did they help to shape the future by putting these notions of “impossible” devices into someone's mind to start working on? Either way, many of those devices exist now for us in some form or another. Even 20 years ago, most people still depended on their home phones for communication. Do you know anyone who still has a landline at home? They are few and far between.

The Electronics Technicians Association was founded in 1978 as the electronics industry was beginning to grow slowly. Now, it's growing by leaps and bounds on a daily basis. It's astonishing how far electronics have come in such a relatively short time when compared to human existence, and it's even more incredible when we ponder how far we will be 50 years from now. Many of the technological advances of the future will be here due to artificial intelligence, machine learning, and the myriad of sensors starting to cover our world. The world is about to take another leap forward, and if you want to be part of that journey, learning electronics is the place to start. As so many maps show us … “You Are Here.”

IoT in a Nutshell

What is IoT? As you may know, IoT stands for “Internet of Things.” IoT refers to a vast array of connected devices that gather and transmit data over interconnected networks with or without human intervention, sometimes even responding to the captured data automatically as machines talk to machines and learn from each other. (When IoT involves manufacturing processes, it is often called industrial IoT [IIoT].) IoT can include data gathered by proximity sensors on your car's front that detect deer in the roadway and signal your brakes to immediately slow down the car without you doing anything. It also includes when moisture levels (or lack thereof) are transmitted from a field to that field's watering system, signaling to turn on the irrigation system without a human lifting a finger. Even a dog's GPS-enabled location device is part of an IoT system, as is the Tile that I press to locate my often-misplaced car keys.

Other systems considered part of IoT are smart cities, smart grids, smart homes, smart watches, and manufacturing machines talking to and learning from each other. Smart devices are used in hospitals, schools, retail, and nearly any other service or business you can think of. Last year, I attended a virtual meeting with someone from a major networking device company. He was speaking from his office about power over Ethernet and how the interconnected devices controlling heat, lighting, air quality, etc., all ran automatically in the high-rise office building he was in. I noticed a model of a pig on the credenza behind him and asked about it. Yes, it was a pig wearing an IoT collar.

What does this have to do with learning electronics? Everything! Electronic sensors and circuits are the beating heart of an IoT system.

Parts of an IoT System

What comprises an IoT system changes depending on who you ask, but regardless of what particular twist an industry or company may put on it, certain things must be there. For an overview of an IoT system, see Figure 1.1.

Devices

What is an IoT device? IoT devices include sensors, circuits, software, actuators (things that do something, such as switch from one state to another), and microprocessors, all rolled into a neat little package. These devices also need a way to communicate and send data to a place where it will be processed, manipulated, and action taken based on the data, or they need to be able to communicate to receive instructions based on the data that was gathered by some other dev...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• Part I: IoT and Electricity Basics
• Part II: Using Common Components
• Part III: More Please
• Part IV: Putting the I in IoT
• Index
• End User License Agreement